CHICAGO | Highrise Projects & Construction, v7

[Rizzo]

I see the office development in the West loop a good balancing measure for the central area. Great neighborhoods are always mixed use. Just as River North should have office space, so should the West Loop and less of it in the central core so that more buildings can be converted to residential. My north side neighborhood may have less population density than downtown areas, but there's few vacant commercial storefronts. With more residents, there's a need for grocery stores, the pharmacies to come back and a bunch of restaurants and cafes that will stay open later, and on weekends. Even when the loop had its lowest vacancies, it still had deficiencies being dead on weekends and after hours. Tourism helped it with hotels and the students downtown help all the restaurants East of State St.

[ardecila]

OK, you're not wrong about mixing uses, but the problem is that all of our rail lines converge in a tight, 1/2-square mile area. Compare that to cities like NYC, London, Paris where the "central area" on the rail map looks more like a spaghetti bowl instead of a wagon wheel.

I'm not against diversifying neighborhoods, but we have to invest in the infrastructure to make it happen. Otherwise we end up like LA, with a bunch of mid job clusters around town and not enough critical mass to really make any of them transit-oriented.

Originally Posted by BruceP

I'd love to see all of them, but I'm not countin' on it. Since the end of WWII and the building of the 2 subway lines Downtown (and the incumbent re-routings) all we've added since then was the Blue Line extension to O'Hare in 1984 and the Orange Line in 1993.

As for the Red Line extension beyond 95th, I'll believe it when I see it. The only way we'll get a real expansion of the system is if the feds fully fund it and give it the priority that it gave the Interstate Highway System. Fat chance for that as long as there's one R in the Senate to filibuster it.

Keep in mind, we've re-built more rail lines than most cities have added over the same time period. The Pink Line was rebuilt from the ground-up, tracks and all, now we're doing the same for the North Red Line. The Green and Brown Line saw virtually every station completely rebuilt from the ground up. There's no lack of funding or engineering know-how in Chicago, we just lack the will. And that can be changed at the ballot box. Already I think we're seeing the will for the Red Line Extension. All the major politicians support it. It just sucks to squander that will and all those dollars in a declining part of town.

[gebs]

I thought there was a thread for John Buck's 655 Madison on this forum, but I can't find it.

Here's a promotional video they just posted for this two-tower concept in the West Loop:
via LinkedIn

[r18tdi]

Originally Posted by gebs

I thought there was a thread for John Buck's 655 Madison on this forum, but I can't find it.

Here's a promotional video they just posted for this two-tower concept in the West Loop:
via LinkedIn

The SSP thread has the address listed as 655 Monroe.

[BVictor1]

ZOOM: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_m0niap_lQQK57oM0-6AZeg

[Toasty Joe]

^ Hopefully they've received feedback on the podium and made some adjustments. Otherwise solid project.

[BVictor1]

Originally Posted by Toasty Joe

^ Hopefully they've received feedback on the podium and made some adjustments. Otherwise solid project.

It'll be a chance to bring up the HSR right-of-way.

[Toasty Joe]

Originally Posted by BVictor1

It'll be a chance to bring up the HSR right-of-way.

Ah right, great call. I plan on joining.

[ardecila]

^ Good! I can’t attend unfortunately but somebody should bring up the HSR question. I brought it up to the Committee on Design and a few other folks around town, never heard a peep in response.

It’s a shame, because the proposed tower really is a great design on a complicated multilevel site. But giving up the HSR corridor is incredibly short-sighted for the entire national rail network, let alone the Midwest and Chicago.

[Randomguy34]

Update on 145 N Damen, McShane & Ashlaur have been chosen to build the development. They want to finish construction by September 2024.

https://mcshaneconstruction.com/mcshane-ashlaur-build-westhaven-park-iid-chicago/

[BVictor1]

04.05.23

[Koodoo25]

741 N Wells



311 W Huron

[Mulan]

https://six55madison.com/

[mh777]

Does anyone know which office project the blurb (below) from this link is referring to? I tried googling it but couldn't find anything. 655 W Madison? 725 W Randolph?

"A total of 18 projects with a value of $100 million or more entered planning in March. The leading commercial projects included a $300 million office building in Chicago, Illinois,.."

[Toasty Joe]

Originally Posted by ardecila

^ Good! I can’t attend unfortunately but somebody should bring up the HSR question. I brought it up to the Committee on Design and a few other folks around town, never heard a peep in response.

It’s a shame, because the proposed tower really is a great design on a complicated multilevel site. But giving up the HSR corridor is incredibly short-sighted for the entire national rail network, let alone the Midwest and Chicago.

Thanks for your comments here and in December! I brought them up in the Q&A and the representative from Onni said CDOT wasn't interested in pursuing those plans in the near future so he kinda dismissed them. Myself and another attendee pushed the topic, though, and it seems Ald. Burnett had no idea it went through the site but acknowledged the plans from "20-30 years ago" and how those were defined when the city was growing in population (which is "no longer the case"). I mentioned it seemed short sighted and it impacts more than CDOT. He did seem open to looking further into it, and since you know so much about this ardecila, I suggest you email Burnett with your thoughts.

The developer also seemed dismissive of our comments about too much parking (~350 spots), saying "everyone they've talked to complains there's not enough parking in West Loop," despite us bringing up multiple nearby transit options and that BofA and BMO towers both had fewer total parking spots and a lot more office space. Seems like they could work with the city to A) reduce parking, B) build underground parking, and/or C) get city funds to help build underground parking in exchange for re-designing the site to accommodate the high speed rail ROW.

[left of center]

The HSR ROW should absolutely be preserved. It will be damn near impossible to get it once buildings have been built and encroach on the right of way. Hopefully the city realizes what a loss this would be and pivots to force the developers to work around it.

[r18tdi]

Anyone tune into the 357 Green meeting last night?

[Toasty Joe]

Originally Posted by r18tdi

Anyone tune into the 357 Green meeting last night?

^^^

[Toasty Joe]

several ongoing projects seen under construction in this update from Building Up Chicago:

[VKChaz]

Originally Posted by left of center

The HSR ROW should absolutely be preserved. It will be damn near impossible to get it once buildings have been built and encroach on the right of way. Hopefully the city realizes what a loss this would be and pivots to force the developers to work around it.

I know the media isn't what it once was, but is there anyone covering this kind of topic who should be made aware?